Ninja Warrior Skip Beat! Style
by Anwedragon
Summary: Come see how the cast of Skip Beat! takes on the world's most difficult obstacle course. Just good clean fun!
1. Chapter 1

I just finished a long story and needed something fun to write. I think the bug has bitten me! Anyway, I watched a Ninja Warrior marathon the other day and thought that it would be great to see how the characters of Skip Beat faired against the obstacle course. I have to say that my favorite competitors are Shingo Yamamoto, Toshihiro Takeda, and of course Makoto Nagano. I wish them all Total Victory in the next running of Sasuke!

Now for the audience participation part, other than the main characters of the cast of Skip Beat!, who do you want to see challenged by the course? Please let me know! Thanks.

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat! or Ninja Warrior/Sasuke.**

One could feel the enthusiasm of the growing crowd as they tried to wait patiently for what would undoubtedly be an exciting event. Their eyes kept turning back to the steel scaffolding that hung over the red course that zigzagged over the large area of dirt and pools of muddy water as they chatted. There were more than one camera flash as onlookers tried to freeze the larger golden letters reading 'SASUKE' in time. The crowed settled down when the loudspeakers crackled to life and the announcer's clear voice ripped through the atmosphere.

"Welcome to Mt. Midoriyama and today's special addition of NINJA WARRIOR!" The crowd went wild and the announcer waited for a moment for them to quiet again before going on. "We have gathered together a collection of Japan's finest entertainers to test their skills against the world's toughest obstacle course!" More cheers issued from the audience. "We have in attendance today Japan's top actor Tsuruga Ren and chart topping singer Fuwa Sho!" Screams came from the girls at the mention of both men's names. "We also look forward to the performances of such up and coming talents as the Ishibashi Brothers, Kotonami Kanae, and Mogami Kyoko!" Still more cheers came from the people. "We would like to thank the agencies of LME and Akatoki for arranging today's special event. Special thanks goes to Takarada Lory for suggesting this competition and arranging most of the contestants!" Lory stood up from his seat in the stands and waved, he was dressed in the black outfit of a ninja.

"As we wait for the final preparations to be complete, please join me for a walkthrough of the first stage of our course!" The crowd turned their full attention to the obstacle course just in front of them. "Each athlete will start on the platform on the left." Everyone looked at the round platform set neatly in front of the large rock wall bearing the gold letters reading 'SASUKE'. "They will have to cross the Sextuple Steps." The crowd oooed at the six rectangles inclined at a 45 degree angle and set about four feet apart diagonally. Someone one with long legs could place one foot on two at a time, but they would not be able to make it to the next step without falling into the brown water underneath the platforms. This obstacle ended with a sloped, padded ramp up to the landing of the next obstacle.

"Then it is on to the Log Grip." The next obstacle was a log with divots in the back. It was too large to reach completely around, so the contestants would have to hold on to the shallow hollows as the thing slid down parallel bars by a hook that came out of its top. What made this so hard were the two sudden drops in the bars that would shake the log furiously as the rider tried to cling to it.

"If they survive that, our athletes will have to travers the Pole Maze!" A long pole stuck up from the middle of a large pool and rested between to bars. The contestant would have to run and jump on the pole to get it to flip to the other side. The difficulty here was the gap that the pole passed through was not straight. There were two sharp bends where the rider would have to flip their weight and change the poles direction to get around.

"Next is the dreaded Jumping Spider!" The pole maze dropped the person onto a red carpet that dropped to a lower level. At the end of this landing was a small trampoline that the contestant would have to hit and launch himself between two walls. They would have to be fast and get a foot and hand on each side before they plummeted into the dirty water below. They would then have to push on both walls as they maneuvered forwards and up through the open bottomed tunnel. They would have to drop down onto another platform that lead to the left and the next obstacle.

"Then they have to take on the Half-pipe Attack!" The path led to a large curved wall that the athlete would have to run across and jump to a rope hanging near the end. This rope would swing them out to a narrow landing connected by a thin walkway to the next obstacle. If they were not going fast enough to stay on the curved surface, or missed the rope or landing, they would end up in the water surrounding the pipe.

"Once they pass that, it's on to the Warped Wall!" The walkway led to a raised platform that dropped into a large curved surface. The contestant would have to run fast and jump up the tall end of the far side. They would have to get their fingers up over the high end that curved back slightly.

"From there it's on to the Jump Hang!" The contestant would then descend a series of platforms to a landing and trampoline like the one at the Jumping Spider. They would have to run and jump from this onto the bottom side of a cargo net hanging at an angle. They would then have to climb down pass the water or up over the top and drop down the net to the next platform.

"Finally they have come to the last obstacle, the Final Climb!" The contestant would then have to climb up two levels to a heavy rope and swing across an open pool to a cargo net waiting on the other side. They will have to climb up this to the scaffolding above and down a short gangplank to the end where a large red button waited for them. Hitting this would raise the yellow bar and release a puff of smoke signaling that they had made it to the finish line.

"They will be given 125 second to complete all eight of the obstacles in the first stage. They must complete the course in the time without touching the water to pass to the next stage and win their chance at TOTAL VICTORY!" The crowd cheered wildly as the announcer finished.

"And now, without further ado, please welcome our athletes to Mt. Midoriyama and this special addition of NINJA WARRIOR!" A line of entertainers dressed in track suits came out and stood in front of the grandstand and waved to the crowd screaming and cheering them on!


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for coming along on this ride with me. I know in the real course there is a constant running commentary on the athletes as they progress through the course, but since I am describing what is happening, I am going to leave most of the announcer's chatter out. I am also trying to keep the descriptions lively so that it is exciting enough to read how the many cast members get through the same events. Please let me know if it gets repetitive and I will work on changing it up. I rely on your opinion to let me know! Thank you

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat! or Ninja Warrior/Sasuke.**

"We will start today's events with Kijima Hidehito! He has been seen most recently in the hit drama 'Darkmoon' and has been so kind as to offer to be our first challenger today!" The announcer's voice cut through the din coming from the grandstand as the actor stepped forwards and pulled off the top of his jumpsuit. It was easy to see the muscles of the well build man under the sleeveless t-shirt he wore. He had been training hard for this competition since he had heard about it. At first he was going to pass on the opportunity, but when he heard that Kyoko would be there, he decided that he would go so that he could be there to help her out of the water when she could not make it through the course. He smiled at this thought then turned his attention to the daunting task in front of him.

Kijima bounced up and down a few times shaking his arms waiting for the beeps that would signal the start of his run. His eyes swung over to the faces of the other contestants watching him. He paused when he met with Kyoko's eyes and he gave her a thumbs-up. Kyoko yelled to him encouragingly. Ren caught the gesture and gave the man a tight glare. Kijima missed the look as he turned back to the first obstacle in front of him. The buzzer sounded and the actor launched himself lightly across the water onto the inclined platforms.

"Kijima Hidehito is in good form as he clears the Sextuple Steps!" the announcer called as Kijima landed a little low on the final platform and scrambled up before he could slide into the water below. He quickly found a grip in the dimples on the back side of the Log Grip and wrapped his legs around the base of the log. It started off down the declining rails to the landing below. He slipped a little as the log hit the second vertical drop, but was able to hang on until he was over the mat below.

"That was a close call on the Log Hang, but he survives to face the Pole Maze!" The crowd cheers at the announcers words. Kijima ignores the noise and concentrates on tossing himself at the ridge pole so that it flips over and crashed into the first of the two bends. With a quick flip, he shifts his weight and bounces the pole through the slot and onto the next bend. At this collision, he flips back the other direction and led the bouncing pole across and into the opening so that he can swing clear to safety.

"Ladies and Gentleman that was a beautiful run through the Pole Maze. Kijima is doing an amazing job, but can he survive the Jumping Spider?" The voice cracked again to the cheering of the crowd. Kijima was almost halfway through the course and feeling good. He chanced a look over at the other entertainers competing today. He was excited to see Kyoko standing there cheering him on. It was the cold look that Ren shot the man that made him stumble a little as he mounted the platform leading to the trampoline. Not sure what that darkness meant, he shook it away and forced his mind to the task at hand. Kijima ran down the decking and hit the springy surface a little too softly. His hands flailed as he missed the walls and went crashing face first into the cold muddy water.

"Oh! And he loses it on the dread Jumping Spider. He did not hit the trampoline hard enough, too bad." There was a resounding aww for the first contestant followed by clapping and cheers as the cold, wet actor sputtered the water away and pulled himself to the shore. He was handed a towel by one of the course workers and met by a young girl with a microphone and camera.

"How do you feel about your first time here at Mt. Midoriyama?" She asked the wet actor as she held the mic out to him so that he could comment on his run.

"I just did not expect the walls to be that far away." Kijima answered as he wiped his wet hair back out of his face. The reporter nodded at his words.

"It was a very good run." She assured him. Most of the first contestants did not make it past the first obstacle, so in her book, it was the best opening they could have asked for. Kijima nodded and squeezed the water from his shirt. He looked around for the girl that he had tried to impress, but Ren had already taken her back to the start of the course so that she could watch the next contestant compete. With a sad sigh, he took himself back to the tents so he could change out of his cold wet clothing.

"Thank you Kijima Hidehito for such a wonderful start to this running of Ninja Warrior!" The announcer boomed. "This is starting out to be an exceptional run here at Mt. Midoriyama!" The crowd cheered one last time for the fallen warrior. "Next up is a fair beauty." The audience gave their attention to the young woman stepping up onto the platform. "A new talent to the world of show business, Kotonami Kanae!" The dark haired teen raised her hand in acknowledgment as she stood there in the embarrassing outfit that the president had delivered to the LoveMe section for this special occasion. They were given tracksuits of the same gaudy pink with the same logo as their LoveMe coveralls. The only relief was that they could get out of the smothering of pink and into the running shorts and black shirt with the 'Sasuke' logo on the back. Sure the shorts were still the same shade of tacky pink, but there was a lot less of it. The only drawback was the fact that it exposed her long legs, but she would take that over the pink ANY day. Her long dark hair was pulled back into a braid so that it would not get in her way. The announcer went on about her age and some other unimportant facts about her as the workers reset the course, but she ignored that and focused on not embarrassing herself anymore. If Lory had not made this part of the LoveMe duties, she would not have been there at all. She looked down at her eager friend holding her jumpsuit and the tall actor standing just behind her. Kanae noticed that Ren had not left her friend's side since they had come out from the tents in their tracksuits. She had also noticed the looks he had given Kijima during his run.

"You can do it Moko-san! Go for total victory!" Kyoko yelled at her. Kanae shook her head and prepared herself as the first of the short tones sounded. When the final long tone hit, she was off bounding through the first obstacle.

"What a graceful way to start the course! Look at the ease in which she leaps through the Sextuple Steps!" The announcer cooed. It was true, Kanae passed through the first obstacle nimbly and leapt up to the Log Grip with easy. She was use to keeping up with the rapid pace Kyoko set at work, so this was easy. It was the upper body obstacles that had her worried. She picked up the can of stick spray and put some on her hands so that she could better grip the log hanging at the top of her climb.

"The young woman is light on her feet, but does she have the hand strength to hang on for the jarring ride of our next obstacle?" Kanae found a good grip and pushed the log off to bounce down and land safely on the mat below.

"Yes she does!" The crowd cheered wildly. "Now on to the Pole Maze." Kanae launched herself at the pole and forced it over and into the first bend. It bounced there for a moment, but no matter how hard she bounced and wiggled, she could not get the thing to shift over.

"Oh no! It looks like she is stuck! She is going to need to twist it a little more to work that pole around that bend." The crowd shouted encouragements and advised to the stuck teen. Kanae finally got the pole to shift to the next bend, but she had the same problem on this bit. She bounced for a while longer till the pole came lose and she dropped safely to the landing below, but the 10 second warning buzzer was already sounding and she did not even try to make the Jumping Spider.

"And Kotonami Kanae is out of time! At least she did not fall to the water below!" The crowd cheered for her valiant effort and Kanae stepped down from the course to take back her track suit from Kyoko.

"What would you like to say about your run?" The young woman asked as she pointed her camera and her mic toward the girl.

"I couldn't get the pole loose from the corners." Kanae shrugged as she walked away. She really did not want to be seen on television in the awful suit Lory had made them wear. She was happy with her run, she had tried her best, and she did not end up in the water.

"Let's head back to the beginning for the start of our next challenger!" The audience cheered again and the entertainers made their way back to the beginning. Since Kanae was not wet, she pulled her track suit on and walked over to stand with her best friend under the shadow of the tall actor. She had seen Kijima come back from the tents and wanted to make sure that he was kept away from her friend at all costs. She did not approve of the actor's playboy ways. Kyoko was happy to spend time with her friend, unbeknownst of the men watching her.

**Author's note:** To answer your question mangaEATER-chan, as far as I know, the only prize is honor and recognition. This competition is held at Midoriyama, Aoba-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan twice a year. 100 contestants are chosen each time to test their skills on the course. Out of the 27 times that the competition has been held, only three people have completed it with in the time limit to win the honor of Total Victory. Only Yuuji Urushihara has done so twice. So that makes a total of 4 wins out of 2700, not good odds. It's a test of skill, strength, and stamina where the contestants come together to cheer each other on against a common foe, the course itself.

For this story, I am sure that Lory coerced several of the cast members into it (LoveME and Ren), while others may have decided that it was good publicity, and still others wouldn't want to be shown up by the other contestants. Each of the contestants I have picked out all have reasons for being there, but if I get any requests for ones that I have not picked, I will definitely work them in. It will be so good to see certain members of the cast dropped into cold muddy water….


	3. Chapter 3

After working on this for a bit, I have decided to limit each chapter to 2 runs at a time, unless they are really short. I also plan to keep to at least one update a day. As always, I look to you to let me know how this is turning out. Reviews and requests are always appreciated.

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat! or Ninja Warrior/Sasuke.**

"Let's welcome our next challenger!" The announcer called to the audience and received a warm cheer as the young woman stepped up. "You can see her talents in the recent drama 'Box 'R'', Amamiyo Chiori." The young girl waved to the crowd, she had pulled the top off of her pink track suit, but kept the pants on. She tried to push away her nervousness as her friends cheered her on. When the buzzer sounded, she took off and passed over the series of slanted platforms. She scrambled up onto the final incline with a lot less grace then Kanae had shown, but there was no time to worry about decorum in this game.

"She just barely pulled that one from the waiting waters of Mt. Midriyama! Will Amamiyo survive the Log Grip?" More cheers of encouragement sounded as Chiori wrapped herself around the hanging log. She pushed off and over the water. Her grips slipped when the log crashed over the first drop and she slipped free on the second bone jarring bounce. Kyoko cried out as her young friend splashed down into the dark water below.

"Amamiyo lost her hold on the Log Grip. An excellent run for such a charming young lady." Cheers greeted Chiori as she waded to the edge where Kyoko and Kanae helped her out. A course worker handed her a towel and the three girls were met by the woman with the microphone.

"Can you tell us what happened?" The girl asked as she held out the mic to catch Chiori's comments.

"My fingers slipped in the shallow grooves and I just could not hang on." Chiori answered before sneezing. Kyoko and Kanae pulled the girl away from the camera and headed towards the tents to get her changed. The announcer called for the next challenger and Kyoko stopped, she really wanted to watch this run. Kanae looked back at her torn friend.

"Go watch, I will take care of Chiori-chan." Kanae answered. Kyoko launched herself at her friend in a hug and thanked her before going back to where Ren was watching.

"Give a warm Ninja Warrior welcome to the first of hosts from the show 'Kimagure Rock', Ishibashi Shin'ichi!" The brown hairs singer bounced a few times in warm up as he listened to the crowd roar. When the signal buzzed he took off through the Sextuplet steps with ease.

"It looks like we have a strong competitor here." The announcer called as the young performer wrapped himself around the Log Grip and bounced safely to the mat below. The announcer rambled on about the 19-year-old's positions in 'Bridge Rock' as the young man slammed his way through the pole maze with ease. When Kyoko had asked the band to join her in the running of Mt. Midoriyama, they had all agreed. They had spent the next few months practicing on anything that looked like it could possibly be on the famous game show.

"Will he make it through dreaded Jumping Spider?" The announcer called and the crowd screamed their encouragement as Shin'ichi pressed himself into the wall at one end of the landing. He ran and hit the trampoline and prayed as he reached for the opposing walls.

"He did it! He made the landing!" His friends yelled encouragements as he worked his way forwards and up between the smooth walls to drop safely to the landing below. Shin'ichi shook his hands and arms to release some of the tension as he jogged up the ramp to the next event.

"It's on to the Half-pipe Attack for our young competitor!" Shin'ichi braced himself and took off over the curved surface and jumped onto the rope hanging over the water. His nimble fingers clutched it and he swung over the water to alight safely on the landing. He quickly caught his balance and let the rope go so he could transvers the thin log that led to the next obstacle.

"He is doing such a good job, but can he keep up the pace when faced with the Warped Wall?" Shin-ichi stood on the landing that dropped into the curved surface so he could study this obstacle for a second. Deciding on his course of action, the young man dropped into the bowl and ran up the far side a ways before turning and running back to the short end. Now that he had some momentum built up, he turned and raced towards the upper edge. The jump he gave was just a little short and he fell back into the bottom of the wall. He quickly turned and repeated the process. This time his fingers caught on the upper edge and he scrambled to get to the top. Cheers issued all around as he conquered the wall and dropped down the scaffolding to the next obstacle.

"He has come so far, can he make it past the last two obstacles and win himself a place is Stage Two? He will have to get past the Jump Hang first." Shin-ichi took no time to study the event, the first attempt on the warped wall had cost him precious time, and although he was doing a good job, he was not sure how much time he had left to go. He ran down the landing and hit the trampoline as hard as he could to launch himself at the cargo net hanging across the water. His hands just slipped into the ropes and he gripped them tightly as he flew. He lifted his feet up so they would not hit the water dangerously close to him.

"Beautiful!" the announcer cried as the musician climbed up the net and rolled to safety on the other side. He sighed in relief; there was only one more obstacle to go before he could rest. His legs and arms were starting to get tired. Shini-ichi righted himself as climbed to the last platform and took up the heavy rope that would convey him across the water and onto another waiting cargo net. He choked up on the rope and swung out to the screams of the watching people. The crowd went wild as the young man clung to the net and pulled himself up to the walkway. His heart leapt as he hear the first sirens warning that he only had ten seconds left to get to that big red button and the next stage of the course. He stood up and sprinted to the box and slammed his hand down on the red button with only a few seconds to spare. As the yellow bars shot up with the puffs of smoke, he turned around and raised both of his arms in joy. He roared his victory at the course before climbing down from the scaffolding to his waiting friends and the camera.

"He had done it! He had made it all the way through stage one and will be the first to test his might against the second stage!" The audience went wild for the young man's victory.

"Congratulation! How do you feel?" The young woman with the mic asked the musician.

"Fantastic!' He answered. "It's a great honor just to complete the first stage and I am looking forward to stage two." He smiled as his friend pulled him back to the course so that he could watch the next band member try his luck on the course.


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you all for coming back for the continuations of our fun.

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat! or Ninja Warrior/Sasuke.**

"Next is the youngest of the of 'Bridge Rock' Ishibashi Yuusei!" The blond teen hopped up on the dais and dropped the top to his track suit. He stood in the same dark 'Sasuke' shirt that the girls has worn and flexed his muscles to the cheers of the crowd. He waved down at his band mates where they stood with Kyoko cheering him to victory. Ren had stood back when Kyoko had rushed to the Ishibashi that had completed the first stage. He recognized the boys from the show where his chicken friend worked. He made a mental note to see how Kyoko knew the boys and if she knew who the chicken was before turning to watch the second brother run the course. The buzzer sounded and Yuusei took off through the Sextuple Steps a little less nimbly then than his friend. He managed to get to the inclined ramp and down the Log Grip without hitting the water. The young man launched himself at the pole and flipped it through the pole maze like a hot knife through butter. He had worked out a plan of attack as he watched others make their way through this event.

"Our second musician is off to a colorful start, but can he keep this momentum up as he faces the dreaded Jumping Spider?" The announcer cheered him on. Yuusei paused against the wall and steadied himself for the leap up between the two walls. His jump on the trampoline was perfect and his hands caught a good hold of the walls, but his left foot landed odd and did not stick. Unable to compensate for the error fast enough, the blond teen slipped from the wall into the cold water below.

"Oh, it looks like the Jumping Spider is earning the name of ninja killer today." The announcer called as the crowd mourned the young man's loss. They still cheered loudly for him as he pushed his normally spiky hair back for his face. His mates and Kyoko stood near as he pulled himself from the water and answered the questions posed to him.

"What happened? Your form looked so good." The girl held the mic to Yuusei.

"My foot landed wrong against the wall and would not take my weight." He shrugged as he dried himself with the towel he was given. She congratulated him on a good try and the young man went to watch the leader of their band for his run.

"Here we have the leader and oldest member of 'Bridge Rock' Ishibashi Hikaru!" The announcer called. Hikaru started to climb up to the beginning.

"You need a boost?" Yuusei teased the shorter man. Hikaru made a face at his friend and stretched a little before he got ready to start his run. He ignored his friends as they chattered back and forth how they would need an extra springy trampoline to get their short friend high enough up to catch on the Jumping Spider. Kyoko reprimanded the two boys and called her support to her friend. Ren stiffened when Hikaru smiled warmly at her and the other two brothers nudged each other behind the young girl's back. Now Ren was sure that he needed to find out how his love knew these three men. Hikaru had decided that this was an opportunity to show his friend up and he would not let being short hold him back. He jumped a few times to warm up his legs. When the buzzer sounded he sprinted through the Sextuple Steps. He almost lost it with his shorter legs, but managed to make it across and up to the log grip.

"Beautify save from the leader of 'Bridge Rock'!" The crowd screamed their encouragement. He skillfully clung to the Log Grip and arrived safely on the mat leading to the Pole Maze. Hikaru threw himself at the pole and bounced it through the maze just a little slower than his teasing friend had. He landed safely on the other side and dropped to the landing leading to the Jumping Spider.

"Can he make it through, or with the Jumping Spider claim another victim?" Hikaru could hear his friend laughing and yelling at him to jump high. He laughed and hit the trampoline hard enough to get up between the curves leading into the narrow pathway. He stuck the landing and everyone cheered. He worked up and through the bottomless corridor before dropping safely to the mat on the other side. He blushed a little when he heard Kyoko's voice cheering his name, but he pushed the thought away so that he could concentrate on the next part.

"He is halfway through and making good time! Can he make it past the Half-pipe Attack?" Hikaru ignored the noise cheering him on as he rushed the curved pipe and onto the hanging rope. He dropped to the padded landing on the other side of the pool and scampered across the log bridge to the Warped Wall.

"I bet you could use that boost now." Yuusei yelled at their leader. Hikaru shook his head and grinned at his friend's comment. He dropped himself into the bottom of the wall and repeated the same process that Shin'ichi had used to get up the wall, but the lighter and shorter man's fingers made it to the top of the wall on the first try.

"He has made it through the Warped Wall!" Cheered the announcer and audience. Yuusei proceeded to punch Shin'ichi in the arm and tease him about being beaten by their shrimp of a leader. Shin'ichi shut him up by pointing out that Hikaru had surpassed him too. Hikaru laughed at the two men as he climbed down to the trampoline that would get him to the Jump Hang. The man paused for a moment sizing the obstacle up before launching himself off the trampoline and high into the net. He grabbed the ropes and pulled himself over the top and down into the bowl of the net. Hikaru pulled himself out and climbed to the last platform.

"One more obstacle and he had made it, but does he have the time?" The announcer put a little more tension in the air. Hikaru swung across the water and grabbed on to the net, he pulled himself to the top and raced down the walkway to the red button and his place in the second stage.

"And Ishibashi Hikaru joins his band mate in Stage Two!" The audience screamed at the victory as Hikaru dropped to his knees and placed his head forward onto the red carpet. Overwhelmed by the feat that he had just accomplished, he needed a moment to rest and catch his breath. When he had collected himself, he climbed down to his share his feeling with the camera.

"I can't believe I just did that." He told the girl holding the mic. She congratulated him on his run and his friend pulled him away patting him on the back.

**Author's note:** You are right violetdelirium(love the name), there are several tests that the competitors go through to make it on to the show and the challenger usually run from weakest to strongest, but since this was a special addition and I only have a few challengers verse 100, I mixed it up a little. I figured Kijima would try to impress the girls by offering to go first, cause who really wants to go first? And you are right, there is not enough clowning around on the beginning dais, but I have been having a problem getting the characters to clown around. Most of them are serious entertainers and worry about their image. I would so love to get Sho up there in one of those loin cloth things just to drop his butt in the water, but that is a little too far out of character for him… but a great image. I also did not bring in any of the regulars on the show to liven in up… octopus man, hang glider man, or any of the all-stars. But I promise to try to prod them into doing more entertaining things that are not too far out of character for our group. I hope I don't disappoint.


	5. Chapter 5

Here is the next episode! Thank you for catching my error Sumi031885, I have corrected it. Please let me know what you think.

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat! or Ninja Warrior/Sasuke.**

"Next we have another lovely lady and idol star, Nanokura Mimori!" The young girl pulled away from the singer she was shadowing to climb to the dais and her try at the course. She didn't really want to be her, but when she heard that her Sho-kun was going to be doing this with THAT girl, she was determined to go. If nothing else, she wanted to be there so that SHE would not try to steal her Sho-kun back. Mimori glared at the auburn haired actress standing next to Japan's top actor.

"Wish me luck Sho-kun." She called to the singer. He waved at her and muttered some form of encouragement. It was good enough for her and she was ready to go when the buzzer sounded. She stopped at the edge of the platform and looked at the steps in front of her. She carefully jumped to the first one and landed with both feet, but the angle forced her to head for the second one quickly. She got one foot on it before she got the second foot off the first step and she stopped. She was stuck over the water, unable to move forward or back, and slightly off balance by the distance between the steps.

"Oh, she is stuck, can she get moving again or will the waters of Mt. Midoriyama claim another victim?" Sho shook his head and turned away from the girl as she tried to go back to the first step and fell face first into the water. The crowd laughed at the girl's plight as she came up red in the face and screaming.

"And she is down on the Sextuple Steps." She pulled herself from the water to find the singer she wanted to comfort her was already on the platform stretching for his run.

"What happened?" The woman with the mic asked her, but Mimori just huffed and turned to get dried off without a comment.

"Our next challenger is the chart topping singer Fuwa Sho!" That audience's screams were deafening. Sho stood up in his sleeveless shirt and track pants and waved at his adoring fans. He flipped his head so that his blond hair would fly about in the light breeze and the girls screamed even louder. He could feel the cold stares of Kyoko, Ren, and Yashiro as they all wished that the baka would fall flat on his face and drowned in the water. He smiled smugly at them and turned his attention back to the task in front of him. This was his chance to show them that he was the better man. He had practiced and was sure that she could beat the tall actor. When the buzzer sounded he took off and leapt lightly across the six slanted steps to the inclined ramp leading to the Log Grip.

"The rock star is off to an excellent start, but can he keep it up?" The announcer stirred the crowd and they screamed even more then that were. Kyoko shook her head at all the girls lusting after the tall singer. Sho wrapped his arms and legs around the log and rode it safely down to the mat below. He had to bounce the pole a few times to get it to flip around the bend in the path, but he made it through the Pole Maze mostly unhindered.

"Fuwa Sho is on to the dreaded Jumping Spider! Will his long arms and legs help him conquer this obstacle?" Sho bounced in place a few times as he sized up the trampoline and wall before launching himself between the walls. He slipped a little, but was able to hang on and work his way up and through the narrow corridor.

"He makes it! A close call, but Fuwa Sho is safe to face the Half-Pipe Attack!" The girls scream his name again as the musician ran up the curved wall and caught on to the hanging rope. He landed on the padded platform and ran across the log to the Warped Wall. Sho stood on the flat pad leading into the curved wall and paused to gather himself up. He launched himself down the slope and up the other side. His fingers touched, but could not find purchase as he dropped back to the bottom of the wall. He glared at the obstacle and gave it another run. This time he caught the top and pulled himself up.

"Fuwa Sho has made it to the top of the Warped Wall!" The crowd screamed. Sho smiled smugly and dropped down the series of platforms to the landing and bunched up for the run and bounce into the waiting cargo net of the Jump Hang. He caught near the top and quickly flipped himself over the bar. He tried to walk down the net, but one of his feet slipped on the rope and he found himself falling face first into the bowl of the net. His fall had dislodged his foot and he quickly recovered and slipped from the net to the platform. Sho ran his hand through his hair trying to recover his cool after that embarrassing incident.

"Ouch, that looked like it hurt, but he has made it through the Jump Hang. Now can Fuwa Sho make it up the Final Climb in time?" He jumped up onto the last landing and took up the rope for the swing across the water to the net. He skillfully climbed up the net and walked down the gangway to the button and his entry into the next stage. He stood on the scaffolding and smiled down on the dark face of his childhood friend and her companions. He climbed down and grinned at the camera waiting for him.

"Congratulations Fuwa-san on your victory." The girl held the microphone out to the tall singer so he could comment on his run.

"It was easier then I have thought it was going to be." The singer boasted. This really was not true, it had been one of the toughest things he had ever done, but it made him look cool and all the girls were sent screaming at his words. He took up a bottle of water and walked over to the faces glaring at him.

"I'm sure it's easier for some of us then for others. I would like to see you beat that." His voice held a note of challenge as he spoke towards his old friend as he walked past. Ren placed a hand on Kyoko's shoulder so she did not go and throttle the arrogance out of the baka, but it was all he could do not to hit the man that was insulting his love.

"Hey Fuwa-san." Ren called after the singer. Sho turned to look at the actor. Ren pointed to his own right cheek. "You got something on your face." Sho's hand shot to his cheek where the ropes of the Jump Hang net had left a slight rope burn. The two actors turned away from the outraged singer and when to watch the next challenger.


	6. Chapter 6

Here is the next installment. Please let me know how you think it is going. Thanks!

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat! or Ninja Warrior/Sasuke.**

"Our next challenger is a little know, yet very important man. Let give a warm Ninja Warrior welcome to the manager of Japan's top actor, Yashiro Yukihito!" Kyoko cheered loudly for her friend as he pushed his glasses up and pulled off his track coat to start his run. Kyoko took it and held it tightly, the man's phone and appointment book were in the pockets, and it would not be good to let them get wet or lost. He was pissed over the singer's sharp words. He had trained with Ren and Kyoko on the mock course that Lory had set up for the athletes and he was ready to prove the singer was wrong. Yashiro rolled the tension from his neck and shoulders as he waited for the signal. The buzzer went off and the bespectacled man vaulted his way onto the Sextuple Steps and onto the ramp leading up to the Log Grip.

"Yashiro Yukihito is off to a powerful start." Kyoko and Ren both yelled encouragement to their friend. Yashiro wrapped his arms around the log and bounced away down the ramp. He reached the landing and pushed his glasses back up where they had rattled loose. He made his way to the Pole Maze and twisted the pole through the maze skillfully.

"Such beautiful form, but can he keep up this pace when faced with the Jumping Spider?" Yashiro only took a second to take a deep breath before running down the platform and jumping up between the walls. The man's hands and feet found grip and he hurried off between the clear plastic panels. He didn't even pause before racing up the ramp and onto the curved wall of the Half-pipe Attack. His hand hit the rope and he swung over to alight on the pad.

"Is this really the mild mannered manager always seen with Tsuruga Ren?" The announcer had met all of the contestants, but he never expected this aggression from the polite man. Ren looked on with the same awe. He had spent a long time training with his manager, but he had never done this well on Lory's course. Kyoko cheered loudly as Yashiro ran across the log and up onto the landing of the Warped Wall. He swiped his bangs out of his eyes as he looked up at the curved surface. He dropped into the bottom and gained speed to leap up and hook the top of the wall. He pulled himself up to the cheering of the crowd.

"Yashiro Yukihito it up over the Warped Wall in one smooth go!" He ignored the noise of the crowd and dropped to the landing to launch himself high into the net of the Jump Hang. Yashiro scampered up the net and bounced down and over the edge onto the platform below. He leaped up to where the rope was and grabbed it up quickly. He swung across and climbed up the cargo net of the Final Climb and sprinted down the gangway to the red button and the Second Stage.

"He has done it and turned in the top time for the course so far today!" Yashiro stood on the final platform and gripped the stitch that had formed in his side. Now that he did not have the anger at Sho pushing him, he was ready to pass out. He nearly fell off the scaffolding as he climbed down to his waiting friend.

"That was amazing." The woman with the microphone greeted him. "How do you feel?" Yashiro smiled at her.

"Good, really really good." He puffed and looked over to where the singer was glaring at him. He smiled at him and gave him a thumbs-up. Sho turned bright red and stormed away. Sho had taken the top time with his run, but Yashiro beat him out by about 10 seconds. Ren brought the man's coat back to him and they went back to watch the next challenger.

"I did not know you had that in you." Ren spoke to his manager as they walked back. Yashiro seemed to have return to his normal self now.

"I didn't either." Yashiro confessed. "I just wanted something to rub that baka's face in." Ren chuckled at the venom in Yashiro's voice.

"That was a good job, and I am going to be hard pressed to beat you." Ren clasped his manager on the shoulder and they turned their attention to the course.

"Please welcome out the last lady to take on our challenge today, Mogami Kyoko!" A cheer went up as Ren walked up to the starting dais where Kyoko was already standing. Kyoko handed down her track suit to the tall actor. This left her standing in the same black shirt and short pink shorts that her best friend had donned during her run. Ren looked at the lovely legs belonging to his heart's desire and smiled warmly. Kyoko placed her feet shoulders width apart, locked her knees, and bent over stretching her hands to ground to loosen her muscles. Ren thanked whoever was listing that the girl had turned to face the course so her butt was facing the sign and no one could see the way the legs of her shorts rode up to show off the creamy skin at the top of her thighs. He caught a little more of the cheesecake view then was good for his control and closed his eyes and tried to think of something else. He heard Kyoko stand up and dance from one foot to the other shaking her hands. He opened his eyes, but was unable to keep all of the desire out of his look. Kyoko looked down at him and jumped back as she recognized the Emperor of the Night standing where her respected senpai had been. She looked around for what may have caused the change in the tall actor, but could not see anything.

"Good luck." Ren said in a soft voice that was just a little deeper than his normal voice. Kyoko stood there staring at him with fear coloring the corners of her eyes. She did not know how he made those two simple words so intimate, but they brushed across her like dark velvet. She was so wrapped up in thinking that the man needed to be locked away for the safety of all Japan's women, that she almost missed the buzzer that started her run. The shrill tone hit her ears and she bounded away across the Sextuple Steps and up the ramp onto the Log Grip. She kept telling herself that she was not running from her senpai, she was just running the course. Ren sighed and followed Yashiro as they tracked the girl's movements through the obstacles.

"A magnificent start through the Sextuplet Steps, this young lady has promise!" The announcer yelled as Kyoko dug her fingers into the wells on the log and jarred it enough to get it moving.

"Your mask slipped again." Yashiro whispered to his charge. Ren looked at the grinning man and back to the stands were they were fanning a few of the weaker ladies that had fainted after his exchange with Kyoko. Ren quickly corrected this and turned to watch his kohai land safely on the pad at the bottom of the Log Hang. Ren was not surprised at how nimbly Kyoko rolled the pole through the Pole Maze and dropped to the platform leading to the Jumping Spider.

"Can Mogami Kyoko make it through the Jumping Spider?" Kyoko was a little shaken by the incident with Ren at the start, but she listened to the voices yelling her support. She centered herself and ran to the trampoline and bounced as hard as she could to reach the walls leading her down the course. She pushed on the two walls with all her might and somehow managed the stick. A cheer went up from the sidelines. Kyoko quickly moved through the passage and dropped to the landing and the path leading her to the Half-pipe Attack.

"Mogami Kyoko makes it through!" The announcer screams into the microphone. The audience joins him in a loud burst of excitement. Kyoko pauses as she measured up the next obstacle. She never expected to make it past the Jumping Spider. She had done really badly on the mock up Lory had made. Kyoko ran down the ramp and across the curved wall to snatch on to the rope hanging at the end. Her momentum carried her out over the water and to the landing platform. She dropped from the rope onto the bobbing platform, but was unable to keep her balance and fell backwards into the water yelling.

"The Half-pipe Attack was too much for her and we lost another challenger to the water of Mt. Midoriyama!" The crowd cheered for the valiant try as Kyoko swam to the edge and her waiting friends. Ren helped her from the water and she was given a towel. Ren had to find something else for his eyes to look at. The way the wet shirt clung to her form was killing him. Yashiro snickered at the poor man's plight. Both of them were interrupted when the lady with the microphone came over to Kyoko.

"That looked so wonderful, what happened?" She held the mic out to Kyoko.

"I am not sure. I know I hit the landing, but I just lost my balance." Kyoko shrugged and patted herself dry with the towel.

"You still did an excellent job." The girl offered her support again and the actress went to join her friends. Sho was waiting just a little ways off and approached her as soon as she was away from the camera.

"Couldn't make it could you?" Sho laughed. Ren clenched his fists so he did not hit the singer. Kyoko just glared at him. Her eyes saw something that made her smile devilishly.

"You got something on your forehead, just there." Kyoko pointed to her forehead just below the hairline. Sho's hand rose to his face as he felt the second welt the Jump Hang had made on his skin. Sho let out an odd noise and left to go find a mirror and see just how bad his face was marked up. Ren, Kyoko, and Yashiro laughed at the singer as he hurried away. Kyoko sneezed. Ren looked at her as she pulled her track pants back on over her wet clothing.

"You really need to go get out of those wet things." Ren told his love.

"No," She said stubbornly. "Moko-san and Chiori-chan are not back from changing yet and I don't want miss your run." What Kyoko did not know was that the two LoveMe girls had found seat halfway down the course so they had a good view of the action, but would not be picked up by the cameras televising the event. They were both still in hot pink and wanted to draw as little attention to themselves as possible. Kyoko zipped up the top to her track suit and pulled her arms inside. After a few moments of wiggling she slipped her arms back out the holes and reached down the front of her top. Ren's eyes widened when Kyoko pulled the wet t-shirt out from inside her coat.

"That's better." She said as she shook out the wet shirt and folded it up. Ren turned his attention to the start of the course and the next athlete so that he was not tempted to look at the skin showing where her zipper had slipped while she was taking the wet shirt off. He could hear the little ecstatic noised that his manager was letting of at his expense. Ren let out a deep sigh, he knew it was not true, but he couldn't help but think that the innocent young actress was trying to seduce him. Little did she know it was working.


	7. Chapter 7

Here is the next section for your enjoyment. Please let me know what you think. As with all authors here, I base my performance on your reviews. Thank you.

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat! or Ninja Warrior/Sasuke.**

"You have seen him in action in the box office hit 'Tragic Maker', please welcome Murasame Taira!" The announcer called as the dark haired actor stood at the start of the course. Murasame bounced around and gave a few punches into the air. Ren watched the actor in his white track pants and 'Sauske' t-shirt with guarded eyes. The tall actor had not had the pleasure of working with the man outside of 'Tragic Maker' so he had to pretend that he did not know him, but his experiences with him on set as Cain Heel left a bad taste in his mouth. The buzzer sounded and Murasame leapt lightly across the Sextuplet Steps to the inclined platform. He clung to the Log Grip as it crashed down the ramp to drop him safely on the mat below.

"Murasame Taira is doing beautifully!" The announcer called as the actor jumped up on the pole and it crashed into the first bend of the Pole Maze. Murasame flipped over, but could not get the pole to move how he wanted it to. It took him several tries, but he managed to get to the mat on the other side of the maze.

"That was close, but does he have enough time left to get through the rest of the course?" The crowded screamed encouragements as Murasame hurried into the Spider Climb and bounced up between the walls. He made the landing and worked his way through to drop down to the landing leading to the Half-pipe Attack. He lost his balance on the landing and hit his knee hard on the carpet. He quickly righted himself, but he limped a little as he made his way to the path leading to the curved wall.

"It looks as if Murasame had injured himself, will he be able to make it through to the end of the course?" Worried noises came from the spectators as they watched the man trying to finish the course. Murasame bent his knee high a few times before ignoring as much of the pain as he could and racing across the curved wall to latch onto the rope. He swung across the water and dropped to the landing safely. He cringed lightly as his knee protested the drop. Kyoko gasped as she watched the actor run across the log, a dark spot was forming on the white of his track pants. He ignored the pain and ran his way up the Warped Wall to loud cheers from the audience.

"It looks like Murasame Taira isn't letting it bother him, but can he make it to the end?" The crowd cheered as the actor hurried down the landing to bounce up into the cargo net. He hit very low on the net and scrambled to get up and over the top of the Jump Hang. He tucked up and rolled down the net and flipped over the bar onto the landing. He did not pause long to gather up the rope and swing across to the Final Climb. The crowd was screaming encouragements as the buzzer started sounding. He got to the walkway and ran down it and slammed his hand on the buzzer with two tenths of a second to spare.

"HE DONE IT! Murasame Taira has earned his place in Stage Two!" The crowd cheers wild at the man's close victory. The former gang member pulls up the leg of his track pants to see how bad his injury was. A fair amount of blood oozed down his leg from the torn skin of his knee. He limped down the scaffolding and into the waiting hands of the course medic.

"Congratulations on beating Stage One. How is your knee?" The girl with the microphone pointed it to Murasame as the medic tended his injury.

"It's just a scrape." He looked down at the bandage they were taping to his knee. "Once I've let it rest for a bit, it should be fine." She congratulated him again and the audience turned their attention to the starting line and the last challenger to Stage One.

Ren stood on the starting platform in dark track pants and the same 'Sasuke' t-shirt that all of the challengers had been given. He popped his shoulders as the announcer introduced him.

"Our final challenger doesn't need introducing. You have seen him in the hit series 'Darkmoon' and in his many clothing ads. Please welcome Japan's top actor and model TSURUGA REN!" The audience screamed as the actor smiled brightly and waved at them. Several of the weaker women swooned. Kyoko shook her head and tried to think of a way to get his smile outlawed, it was just too dangerous. Ren squatted down next to his love and looked at her. His heart thumped as she smiled up at him with those golden eyes that he loved so much.

"You can do it." She offered her support to him as she held his folded coat over her arm. Ren reached out and pushed a loose strand of damp hair from her face as he wished he could be that coat pressed to her body. His feather light touch made her blush and he stood up before he did something on camera that would cause problems later. Just that simple gesture had the girls of the audience screaming in delight. If you knew where to look Lory could be seen crying tears of joy at the girl's reaction. Maybe his favorite LoveMe member was starting to notice the actor's feelings for her. Ren reordered his thought so that he could face the challenge in front of him and he was ready to go when the buzzer sounded. The long legs of the tall actor helped him to stride through the Sextuplet steps gracefully. He held on tightly for the bumpy ride on the Log Grip to the mat leading to the Pole Maze.

"It seems that Tsuruga Ren might be as good an athlete as he is an actor!" Cheered the announcer as Ren twisted his body on the pole and slipped it through the maze. "But can he pass the obstacle that has earned the name Ninja Killer today?" Ren gathered his strength and hit the trampoline just right to vault him up to the waiting Jumping Spider's walls. The length of his arms and legs gave him some trouble in the narrow passage, but he stuck the landing and hopped his way through to the platform that had caused Murasame's injury. Ren chose his path and raced down the plank to the curved wall of the Half-pipe Attack.

"Tsuruga Ren is making a great run on the First Stage! Look at him go!" The audience screamed again as Ren released the rope and headed across the log to the Warped Wall. He dropped into the curved bottom and walked up the tall side as far as he could. He turned and jogged back to the top of the short side where he turned on the ball of his foot and raced back to the tall end. Ren leapt up and grasped onto the top of the wall with both hands and pulled himself to the top. His ears caught the encouraging screams of the girl he loved and he flipped off the last level of scaffolding onto the landing that led to the Jump Hang. Ren smiled at the din his acrobatics won him from the crowd. He chanced a glance at the other athletes on the side lines to see Kyoko and Yashiro both clapping madly for him. He also saw Sho's darkened face glaring at him. He smiled brightly for the pissed off singer and turned his attention to the last two obstacles he had to conquer.

"Our favorite actor is also a magnificent acrobat, but will that help him win his way past the Jump Hand and Final Climb?" The crowd roared again at the announcers words. Ren jumped as the trampoline tossed him at the cargo net. He caught it with one hand and a gasp of horror issued from the crowd as Ren swung loose on the net. He managed to sink his grip into a lower rung and haul himself up the net to the upper bar.

"He just managed to hang on to that one!" The audience cheered as the actor clambered down the net to the landing. He bounded up to the last rope and used it to each the net on the far side of the dirty water. He pulled himself free of the net and jogged down the path to hit the red button ending his run of the First Stage.

"Tsuruga Ren has made it past the First Stage of Mt. Midoriyama and earned his place in the Second Stage!" Ren turned and bowed his respect to the course that had taken out half or the challengers today. He dropped down from the stand and made his way over to where the young woman was waiting to interview him.

"Congratulations Tsuruga-san. We were worried when you almost fell on the Jump Hang, but you pulled through and made it. How do you feel?" Ren gave her his famous smile.

"I am very happy." He said. "That was very challenging and I am proud that I made it through." Ren admitted humbly. "Thank you everyone for your support." The crowd cheered at the actor and the woman congratulated him once again. Ren left to join Kyoko and Yashiro waiting behind him.

"That was great." Kyoko bounced around in her excitement. She was happy that Ren had turned in a time better than Sho's had been, but not quite as good as his manager had done. The Jump Hang had cost him the few seconds that would have won him the top spot. Ren smiled at his kohai and took his coat back from her. He slipped the slightly warm article on and breathed deep, his pulse quickened, it smelled faintly of her. Yashiro grin widely as he caught the actor's actions. Ren noticed the devilish gleam in his manager's eyes and shook his head as the three friends made their way over to the resting area to wait for the next leg of the course.

**Author's note:** For those of you familiar with Ninja Warrior, I know the course is much harder than I have written it here, but it would have made for a short and somewhat boring story to have all of the challengers lose in the first round. Please forgive my artistic license and thank you for your continuing interests.


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry for the delay, had to work today. Please let me know what you think.

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat! or Ninja Warrior/Sasuke.**

"Darkness has fallen here at Mt. Midoriyama and six athletes have earned a place in Stage Two." The announcer called to the assembled audience. There had been a short break while they moved to the next and smaller section of the obstacle course. "There is still a little time before the challengers are ready to take on the course, so why don't we see what they will be faced with." All eyes turned to the six events that the entertainers would have to take on.

"When the gate opens, each athlete will have to face the Slide Drop." The audience studied the loose pole and two parallel bars that slanted down across the open water to a floating pad. If the pole twisted as they came down, the challenger would drop into the waters below.

"Once safely on the mat, our challengers will have to face the Double Salmon Ladder." The audience ooed at the hellish event consisting of two sets of vertical parallel columns with a series of paired 2x2s set at a slight upwards angle attached to them. The challenger would have to take a pole placed into the lowest set of 2x2s and hang from it. They would then have to jump the pole up to the next set of 2x2s while the mat under them is removed to reveal the dark water beneath. Once they reached the top of the first set, they would have to turn around while hanging on the pole and jump it across to the matching series of 2x2s set facing the first. They would have to jump up a few more times till they could reach the next obstacle.

"Then it is on to the Unstable Bridge." Two boards about 20 inches wide hung over open water. The first swung from four cables connected to the corners of the plywood. The second hung level with the first, but only had a cable attached to the center of each end of the board. There were about 12 inches between the ends of the boards at the center and about 3 foot from the last board to the landing and path leading to the next obstacle.

"If they don't fall there, they are halfway through and on to the Balance Tank." The path led to a log that the contestant would stand on and roll down two declining bars that ended on a padded wall with a rope that led to the landing for the next contraption.

"Next, our athletes will be challenges with the Metal Spin." The announcer referred to the next device that looked like it could have come out of a horror movie. Four chains hung from a ring over an open expanse of water. There was a long jump from the platform to the chains that would spin around to deposit the challengers at the final obstacle.

"Last is the Wall Lift. Our challengers will have to raise each of the increasingly heavy walls to pass. The first is 66lbs, the second is 88lbs, and the final one is a whopping 110lbs!" The announcer explained. "And they only have 90 seconds to pass everything and hit the red button to win their place in Stage Three!" The audience looked over the challenge before the entertainers. The scaffolding of the second stage had been well lit in shades of blue and yellow and there were spouts of fire that would erupt at random around the course that gave it an ominous feel against the darkness of the night. "Now without further ado, please welcome out remaining six challengers to the Second Stage of Ninja Warrior!" The gathered people screamed as the group of people approached the course.

"First challenger to take on the Second Stage will be Ishibashi Shin-ichi!" The brown haired member of 'Bridge Rock' pulled off his light coat and handed it to his friends. They patted him on the back and Kyoko called her support as the young man climbed the steps leading to the steel grate that barred his entrance to the course. Ren stood next to Kyoko and watched her interaction with the band members. Kyoko froze when the tall actor asked the question that she dreaded to hear.

"How do you know the members of 'Bridge Rock'?" Ren asked with a smile. He did not like the way the shortest one acted so friendly with his love. Kyoko crumbled to little pieces as she begged help from the two remaining boys with her eyes. She had already asked them not to tell anyone that she was Bo. They had told her that she did a wonderful job and it was nothing to be ashamed of, but she still begged them until they promised that they would not say anything. The boys looked to the terrified girl and back to the tall actor waiting for an answer.

"She helps out on our show sometimes." Hikaru answered. Relief flooded her face as she barely escaped the brush with danger, but Ren did not leave it at that.

"That's the one with the chicken mascot, Bo." Ren said as he thought of his friend, he had taken to watching the boys' show when he spotted his friend while flipping channels one evening. Hikaru nodded and Ren looked around as if he expected the plump poultry to come walking out. "I am surprised that you did not bring your friend here to cheer you on." This time Kyoko started to turn to dust as her petrified form started to brake up. Hikaru once again came to her rescue.

"We invited Bo, but he had a previous engagement and could not make it." Hikaru gave Kyoko a knowing smile as he answered the actor's question. Kyoko thanked him silently as the actor accepted his answer. Yuusei elbowed his older friend, now that Hikaru had saved her twice from the tall actor, maybe Kyoko would go on that date with him. Ren was going to say something else, but was interrupted when the tones that started Shin-ichi's run sounded and they all turned their attention to watch the gate sing open to admit the young man. Shinichi grabbed onto the bar and slid till the pole crashed into the vertical supports before swinging his feet out and dropping to the floating mats.

"A beautiful start on the Slider Drop, now it's on to the Double Salmon Ladder!" The crowd screamed their support for the musician. Shin-ichi grabbed onto the bar and lifted his weight onto it. As soon as his feet were off the mat, the course workers pulled the floating pads out from under him and he had to go forwards. Shin-ichi swung back and forth to gain momentum and tried to jump the bar up to the next rung, but only one end of the bar caught in the next groove and the young man splashed down into the waters below.

"Mt. Midoriyama's dread Double Salmon Ladder has claimed another ninja!" The announcer called as Shin-ichi made the same swim to shore that so many others before him had done. Hikaru and Yuusei helped him out and gave him something to dry off while.

"What happened?" The young woman with the microphone and camera came to talk with the challenger on the failed attempt.

"I just miss judged the jump and missed the groove." Shin-ichi explained as he wrapped his towel around his neck. The night air was a little cold, but he wanted to wait to see how his friend faired against the challenging before he went to get dry clothing.

"Next to face Stage Two will be Ishibashi Hikaru! Will he pass where his band mate could not?" The announcer called as Hikaru made his way to the starting gate. The four remaining challengers and their friends cheered loudly for the short man as the gate moved and he jumped up to the slider bar. The bar carried him across the water and he dropped unceremoniously to the bobbing mats and safety. Hukaru righted himself and bounced over the mats to the waiting Double Salmon Ladder.

"Can this Brother make it up the Double Salmon Ladder?" Hikaru could hear his band mates and Kyoko cheering him on. Hikaru grabbed on to the pole with the back of his hands towards him and hung from it. After a few swings, he was able to jump it up the first rung of the ladder. Once started, he continued up till he had to cross to the second side. Hikaru turned around on the bar and stretched his legs out so that he could get a good swing and forced the bar across to the other ladder. A gasp went through the onlookers when the two ends of the pole landed in two different rungs, but it did not fall. Hikaru quickly bounced the uneven pole into the upper rung and climbed his way to the top and the next obstacle.

"A magnificent save by the oldest member of 'Bridge Rock'! Now it's on to the Unstable Bridge." The announcer cheered as Hikaru worked his tired hands onto the first of the two wooden planks. Once his grip was firm, he shifted his weight to the board and grasped it firmly. He bounced as he slid his hands along the edges of the board till he reached the end. He swung the board back and for the till the two ends of the twin boards almost touched. As the boards swung together, he made his move and jumped from the first board to the second. Both hands landed at the same time and he grasped onto the rocking board without tipping it over. A cheer sounded as he quickly worked his way to the far end of this board and threw his feet out to reach the far wall. He came up short and had to rock this board back and forth till he was able to kick off of the landing. Once the board swung back, he was able to reach the safety of the platform and release the death grip he had on the Unstable Bridge.

"He had made it through! does he have the skills needed to pass the Balance Tank?" The announcer yelled into the microphone. Hikaru ran down the path and placed one foot onto the cylinder that would convey him to the rope hanging down the padded wall. His second foot quickly joined the first and he walked backwards as the tube rolled down the inclined slope. When he was close enough he jumped from the log to the wall and just caught the rope. He hauled himself up and ran on to the next part.

"Magnificently done! Next Ishibashi Hikaru faces the Metal Spin." The announcer informed everyone. Hikaru raced down the gangway and looked at the device waiting for him as a blast of fire erupted just off the course. He swallowed hard and threw himself off the end of the platform to one of the waiting chains. His hands grasped it and the circle started to spin and bounce. As his full weight hit the bottom of the bounce, his fingers slipped and he was swallowed by the waters that had consumed so many others

"No! Ishibashi Hikaru was defeated by the Metal Spin." The announcer called and the crowd groaned this disappointment before cheering for the young man pulling himself from the water. The young woman interviewing the contestants came to him and asked the question everyone wanted to know.

"You were doing so well. What happened?" Hikaru stood up and looked back at the evil contraption that had dropped him into the drink.

"I caught the chain, but I just could not hang on when it started to bounce back up." He explained.

"You did a wonderful job." He said to him as the two men that shared his name came to escort their leader to get dried off in the cool air. Yuusei didn't even tease the older man about his size, but he did grin when Kyoko came over to give him her condolences. Ren's heart tightened in his chest as he overheard the wet young man ask Kyoko if she would be willing to join her for dinner after the competition was over, but he let out a sigh of relief as she shook her head and politely refused his offer on grounds that she already had plans for that evening. He was glad that Yashiro had already asked her to make sure that the tall actor ate right when he was finished. He was happy to see that the young lady missed the crestfallen expression that crossed the oldest Ishibashi's face as he accepted his friend's apology and turned to get dried off.

Kyoko returned to Ren's side and he smiled warmly at the young woman. She shivered in response and turned to watch the next challenger mount the steps. Kyoko gasped as she felt something draped over her shoulders. Ren had mistaken the shiver as cold and pulled off his coat to share part of his body heat with his love. Kyoko tried to return the offered article saying that Ren needed to stay warm, but the bright smile he sent her made her grudges swim up with happiness and she wrapped that warm top around her to appease him. Truthfully, she had been cold in her slightly damp top and track pants so she thanked him for his sacrifice and they both turned to watch the next person run the Second Stage. Anyone watching could see the ecstasy written all over Yashiro's face as his fan girl kicked in and he forced himself to contain the loud squeal that was ready to pop out at the touching scene. Had he let that noise out, the two actors standing closer together then proper in public might have realized their position and move apart.

**Author's Note:** Had to toss a little fluffy in there...


	9. Chapter 9

Here is the next section for your enjoyment. Please leave a review and let me know what you think.

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat! or Ninja Warrior/Sasuke.**

"Please welcome to Stage Two, Fuwa Sho!" The crowd screamed again for the top singer. Kyoko rolled her eyes at the noise and Ren placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. In her annoyance at the singer and his fan, Kyoko did not notice the tall actor drawing her near or the fact that she unconsciously leaned back against his warmth. Ren sighed in contentment as Kyoko pressed into him. He thanked the heavens for the time that they had spent as the Heel siblings and the fact that she had grown comfortable with him physically. Sho looked down at the pair and darkened when he saw the intimate position that his childhood friend stood in with his biggest rival. He still felt that she was his and he stiffened up at the sight. He was so angry that he missed the buzzers that signaled his run and only snapped back to his task then the gate clanged open and the crowd started yelling for him to go.

"It seems something has distracted Fuwa-san from his task. Will this cost him the Second Stage?" The announcer called. Fuwa cursed the pair and threw his rage into the course and crashed violently through the Slider Drop. He landed heavily on the bobbing pads and grasped onto the bar of the Double Salmon Ladder. It took Sho no time to use his anger to slam his way up the first half of Salmon Ladder. He turned around and pushed himself up the second half.

"It looks like Fuwa-san has recovered and is moving at an incredible pace!" The announcer cheered along with the excitable audience. Sho ignored them and gripped onto the first plank of the Unstable Bridge. He bounced along its length quickly and rocked back and forth so he could make the jump between the two boards. Surprisingly, the mad musician managed to make the transfer smoothly and worked his way to the far side without losing it. His temper was still hot as he let his emotions drive him on to the Balance Tank. His eyes glanced over to the two actors still standing together and a new burst of anger pushed him onto the cylinder. He took three fast steps before his unstable mind caused him to slip and the log shot out from under him, his bottom hit and he bounced as the he fell backwards. The bounce caused the log to roll farther back and he cracked his head on the log as it was forced up the ramp. He finally came to rest below the surface of the dark water. Sho let out a scream of frustration that went unheard by the audience separated by the cold liquid. When he surfaced he pulled himself to the edge of the pool where Mimori was waiting for him with a towel. He grabbed it way from her and wiped the water out of his face. The lady conduction the interviews approached him with the microphone.

"Can you tell us about your run?" The girl stuck her microphone out to the singer. He froze on the edge of admitting that he was unbalanced due to the sight of his property being touched by another, but realized that would not be good for his image. He quickly reconstructed his thoughts and claimed that he was moving too fast and lost his balance. The woman nodded and thanked him for his time before he turned way to get dried off. He wanted to go and rip Kyoko away from Ren, but under the gaze of watchful cameras was not a good place to start a fight with the tall actor. Sho stormed off as he imagined some of the things that he would like to do to the tall actor if he ever got him alone in a dark alleyway. Ren smiled at the back of the livid singer as he left. He could feel Kyoko shake her head at the singer from where she was pressed into him. During the short run, Ren had managed to slip his hand from the top of woman's shoulder and across the front for her shoulders to hold her closer in the cool air. His pules raced at her closeness but he held her as gently as his beating heart would allow. Any tighter and he was sure that she would notice his invasion of her personal space and pull away from him, but he was not ready to release her just yet. Ren had already prepared to use the cool air as his excuse for being close to her if anyone asked, but no one paid much attention to them as the next challenger danced excitably up the steps. Well almost no one, Yashiro was giddy and Lory was screaming his joy, but his calls were lost in the crowd's cheers for the next ninja.

"Next up is the man that gave us the top time in Stage One, Yashiro Yukihito! Can he be the first to finish Stage Two and win his place in Stage Three?" Yashiro pushed his giddiness away and tried to study as much of the first two events that he could see. He had trained hard, but he was not very confident that he could make it thought this part. He no longer had anger pushing him and his eyes kept glancing over to his charge wrapped around the oblivious girl. He almost giggled as he lost his concentration again, but was pulled back as the beeps sounded and he was omitted to the course. Yashiro immediately took up the bar of the Slider Drop and slid the length of the parallel poles to swing easily to the mat waiting to take him. He wrapped his hands around the bar of the Double Salmon Ladder and shifted his weight onto it.

"Can our Yashiro Yukihito make it to the top of the Double Salmon Ladder?" Yashiro heard Kyoko's and Ren's voice cheering him on and he swung and pushed the pole up the length of the first half of the hellish event. He switched over and jumped the bar across and reached the top of the second side fairly quickly. His hands were starting to ache him as he pushed on towards the Unstable Bridge. Yashiro made the transfer to the third obstacle and reached the end of the first plank quickly. He got the boards close together and jumped to the second, but his right hand hit before his left and the unstable wood pivoted up and slipped from his grasp. Yashiro flailed as he landed with a splash.

"The waters of Mt. Midoriyama have claimed another victim tonight! Are either of the two remaining challengers strong enough to make it through the Second Stage?" The announcer called to the audience. They cheered when Yashiro climbed to shore dripping wet. It was when Kyoko went to move away from the tall actor that she discovered their intimate position. She blushed furiously as he released her. It was all Ren could do to hide the disappointment and longing in his eyes as she turned and stared at him with surprise showing in her golden orbs. Ren shrugged nonchalantly as if what he had done was not a big deal. It was the same un-Japanese gesture that annoyed her when she first saw it as Bo. She turned from him to the manager answering the interviewer's questions. Ren followed her at a respectable distance with a sigh. Now that she had noticed him, it was unlikely that she would allow him into her personal space again so easily.

"I guess I was just not fast enough to catch the board with both hands." Yashiro explained how he fell. The woman thanked him and he went to retrieve his coat from where he had hung it preparing for his run. He had been so excited by the antics of this charge that he had almost worn it on to the course. It was the words of one of the course workers that reminded him to take off the article that saved his phone and appointment book nestled in the pocket. After a quick check to make sure everything was intact, Yashiro went back to his friends waiting for him. Kyoko congratulated him on the good try. Yashiro gave Ren a devious smile and the tall actor gave the older man a sheepish look, like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar but was not ashamed of doing it. They went back to watch the second to last challenger to the course.


	10. Chapter 10

Here are the last two to run the second stage. Please let me know what you think. Now I have to go spend the next six hours downloading drivers for my computer so that I can play Diablo III….. SO EXCITED! I promise to get the next update to you in a timely fashion..

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat! or Ninja Warrior/Sasuke.**

"Murasame Taira will be the next man to test his skills on Stage Two!" The audience cheered for the ex-gang member. He stood behind the gate and rolled the tension from his neck. As soon as the gate opened Murasame jumped onto the pole of the Slider Drop and was away to the floating landing. He landed lightly and spring up to take on the next challenge. He wrapped his hands around the loose bar of the Double Salmon Ladder and gracefully bounded up both sets of the paired 2x2s.

"This man is off to an amazing start!" The announcer called as Murasame reached the top of the Ladder and reached for a good hold on the first part of the Unstable Bridge. The entertainer scootched across the plank and rocked it so he could transition from the first to the second without tipping off it. Murasame crossed the rest of the bridge and kicked off the wall so that he could swing over far enough to get his balance on the top of the wall. Once free, he ran down the path to the Balance Tank. He hopped up on the cylnder and rolled it down to the wall and pulled himself up the rope.

"Murasame is giving a strong run on the Second Stage. Over halfway through and looking good!" The crowd screamed encouragements as the actor paused to study the metal spin. Once he had sized it up he took a running leap at the chain dangling over the water. His hands found perches and the ring spun around slinging him out over the landing on the other side of the water.

"BEAUTIFUL! Now Murasame only has the Wall Lift left!" The screams from the watching people pushed the challenger on and he grabbed the first wall and threw it up to slip under. She strained a little on the second wall, but managed to get it up quickly. He hit the third and heaviest wall and struggled to lift it high enough to get under it. He slipped his leg under as the 10 second warning alarm started sounding. He shoved up and wiggled under it and scrambled to the red button just a few feet away. He slammed his hand down on it and a set of metal gates swung open to the deafening roar of the spectators welcoming him to victory.

"HE HAD DONE IT! Murasame has reached stage three!"

Ren closed his eyes and listened to the din that the other actor's victory had caused. He was trying very hard to center himself so that he could take on the course himself. He was just about to head away from Kyoko and Yashiro when he heard his name called.

"Tsuruga-san." Ren looked back to see the actor that had just finished the second stage loping towards him. He paused so that the man could reach him. Murasame held out his hand to the tall actor preparing. "God speed." He said with a warm smile. Wishing someone good luck before a performance was usually bad luck. Ren looked at the man and took his hand and shook it before turning to go. He was touched that Murasame had been kind enough to encourage him even though they did not know each other, that is, Murasame did not know him as Tsuruga Ren. Ren mounted the stairs as his friends called out encouragements behind him.

"Our last challenger tonight is Tsuruga Ren!" The screams were deafening again. The crowd was worked up over Murasame's win. Murasame stood with Kyoko and Yashiro as he watched the tall actor waiting for his try at the stage. The lights behind the tall actor cast a silhouette that struck a chord in Murasame.

"You know, he is somehow familiar." Murasame said as he tried to place where he had seen the actor before. Kyoko and Yashiro paused as the man tried to work out where he knew Ren from.

"You probably saw him in something on TV." Kyoko tried to draw the man away from thinking about it. The fact that Ren had been Cain Heel had not been released yet. Murasame shook his head. He knew he had seen the man play in many things, but it felt as if he had an encounter with him before, but he could not think of it. He pondered over this as the signal sounded and Ren reached for the bar that would carry him to the mat on the surface of the pool. Kyoko's eyes followed her senpai's graceful landing and prayed that the observant actor next to her did not notice all the similarities she had when she first met Ren dressed as Cain.

"Such elegant form!" The announcer called as Ren swung lightly from the bar of the Double Salmon Ladder. Ren bounced the bar up the first half and turned around to bounce swiftly up the second side. He moved on to the Unstable Bridge.

"He makes that look so easy." Yashiro grumbled as Ren conquered the plank that had dropped him into the water. Kyoko laughed at the manager and they shifted down the course to watch Ren pass onto the Balance Tank. Ren smiled as the water carried the sound of Kyoko's laughter to him. He stepped onto the cylinder and started to roll it down the ramp. His mind was on the young girl and not where his feet were and the log rolled a little too quickly. A tangible gasp issued from the crowd as the tall actor started to fall forwards but he pushed off hard and just grabbed the rope hanging on the wall. His feet were just barely out of the water and he scrambled up the wall to the dry walkway.

"That was a close call for Japan's favorite actor!" The announcer cheered him on with the crowd. Ren chastised himself for letting his mind wander and he pushed himself past the spouts of fire and over the glassy surface below the Metal Spin. His nimble fingers caught the chain and he bounced as it twisted around to deposit him on the other side of the gap.

"He is almost there! Just the Wall Lift baring his way now!" Ren ignored the announcer and the roar of the crowd as he tossed up the 66 pound wall and passed under. He lifted the second wall with easy and went to the third. Ren had to bend low to pass under the 110 pound wall, but he made it to the red button and his place in Stage Three just as the first warning siren sounded.

"Tusuruga Ren had made it to Stage Three!" The crowd roared with excitement! After a quick congratulations from the woman with the microphone, Ren went to join the actor standing with his friends.

"Fantastic." Kyoko bounced around in her excitement. Ren smiled warmly at the girl, she was so cute it was all he could do not to grab her up in a hug. Murasame watched the giddy girl interact excitingly with her taller senpai. He was now sure that he had seen those two together somewhere and the familiarity of the pair tickled at the back of his mind. Ren's silhouette at the beginning of his run brought images of BJ from 'Tragic Maker' to his mind, but he shook these thoughts away. There was no way the tall gentleman could possibly have anything in common with that unknown foreigner. Murasame had spent several hours trying to locate ANYTHING associated with Cain Heel's name, but nothing came up on any search engine that he used. Murasame studied Kyoko as she chattered on to the tall actor. He shook the thought away. There was no way this cute girl could possibly be the same hot girl Cain had called sister. No way, she was much too innocent

"Congratulations." Murasame stepped up to the taller actor. "I am glad that you made it to the Third Stage." A shadow passed through Ren's eyes before he smiled kindly to the actor.

"Thank you. And to you too." Ren answered kindly. Murasame froze at the actor's reaction. He thought he had caught a hint of venom passing through Ren's eyes before the smile, but he could not explain it. Anymore interaction was cut off when a course worker informed them that they needed to head to the Stage Three starting point.


	11. Chapter 11

Here is the first section of Stage Three… I hope you enjoy it. I could not get online to play Diablo III due to server troubles, so I have plenty of time to get this chapter done. Now I just need one or two more to be completely finished.

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat! or Ninja Warrior/Sasuke.**

"Welcome to Stage Three of Ninja Warrior." The announcer's voice cut through the noise of the crowd gathered around the final course. "Only two of our twelve competitors have completed the first two stages of the course and won their way here. In this untimed stage, our final two men will have their stamina and strength stressed to the max. Will either of them have what it takes to push past this and earn their chance at Total Victory?" Ren and Murasame looked at the long, brightly lit scaffolding rising from the glittering waters. The final tower of Mt. Midoriyama beckoned to them from just behind the structure they had to face. The announcer skipped over the description of the final course and called Murasame to the starting platform. The two actors gave each other a grave look and the shorter man mounted the steps to the starting line.

The third part of the infamous course never got broken down for the audience, usually by this time it was very late in the day and most of the spectators had already left. Today's crowd was larger than normal due to the fact that Japan's number one actor was one of the participants. Every eye had traced this section of the course many times throughout the day and the challengers had walked up and down its length many times as they warmed up for stage one.

There had been many tough challenges that came and went with each incarnation of the course, but the eight obstacles here were well known to all and did not need explanation. Each of the first four events was separated by a padded platform where chalk and stick spray were available for the athletes to use. First there were the twin rings attached to the long bars of the Arm Rings. The each ring would slide along the length of the parallel bars. They would catch on the many dips and bumps bent into the line of the bars. Next was the long length of declining ceiling that made up the Globe Grip. Round glass balls were attached in two lines down the slope, each a decent arm's width from the next. Next was the Devil Steps. A set of hand steps rose up to a landing about two-foot deep before rising again to a point joining a single set of steps falling away. The challenger hung from the bottom of the steps and climbed as they rose and fell over the still water below. Then the entertainers would have to face the Ultimate Cliff Hanger. A gray wall rose up from the water and turned to jut out over the open water before turning to rise to scaffolding above. A series of rotating red lights lined the top of the wall and a series of thin rails ran along its face. The path the athlete would have to take led out and up the underside of the out cropping to turn back upon itself and rise to a rail along the edge of the upper vertical part of the wall. The rail broke and there was a short space from its end to the next short section of railing. This was followed by an even larger gap and a much smaller finger hold that required a jump to reach. This rail was just wide enough to get both hands on and only about two inched deep. Then there was one more section of the thin rail another jump away before the last padded landing.

There was really no place to rest in the final four obstacles. After the Cliff Hanger came a series of three Jumping Bars and the inclined surface of the Hang Climb. Someone had taken a cliff climbing wall with the little handhold things and bolted it to the ceiling so the challenger had to hand from his fingers as he worked to transverse it. This led straight into the Spider Flip. A plank ran out about five foot to bend at a 90 degree and up. There was a very thin strip of wood for the challenger to stand on as he tried to jump across a wide opening to the matching board on the other side. He would then have to climb back down the bottom of the board to a green hanging bar and the last resting place before moving on the Final Ring. The hula-hoop size metal ring sat just outside of easy reach and wrapped around two long bars. This would be used to travel the length of the final obstacle and left the rider hanging several feet from the final red mat. A good swing and hard jump would win them two puffs of smoke and a chance at Total Victory.

Murasame stood on the light gray mat and dipped his hands in the box of chalk and dusted the excess off. The crowd had grown quiet as anticipation filled the air. Most of the screaming girls had cleared out when their singer had failed in stage two. Murasame gripped one of the rings forward and one backward and fingered them for a moment getting a good grip before he pushed off down the smooth section of the bars.

"Murasame is off to a strong start." The announcer called quietly into the loud speaker. He clanged into the first drop and pulled against the lower ring to crash the upper ring over the shorter of the two bends in the bar. He worked forwards to just before the next drop on the lower bar and again tried to raise the upper ring over the much taller bump. It took him a few tries, but he managed to get it over and on to the far end of the bar where he could drop to safety on the gray mat.

"He is safely through the Arm Rings." The gathered people clapped as the ex-gang member squeezed his hands open and closed working the stress from his fingers. He looked over the declining surface of the Glob Grasp. After a few moments of rest the entertainer slipped his hand over to top of the ridged glass ball so that the thin pole that attached it to the surface slipped between his middle two fingers. Once he was comfortable with his grasp, he swung his weight out and grasped on to the next globe the same way he held the first. He switched his weight to the new globe and continued down into he could reach the next landing pad. The announcer gave a running detail of the man's progress, but everyone else was quiet as Murasame swung his way down. The audience applauded again when he was safe at the bottom of the Glob Grasp.

"Nicely done, now Murasame has to face the Devil Steps!" Murasame picked up the can of sticky spray and put some on his hands and patted them together a little as he waited for his hands to recover a little from the last events. He puzzled over the obstacle for a moment before turning his back to the course and grasping onto the first of the steps with his fingers. As he climbed up the steps with his hands, his legs pumped as if he was walking up them instead. When he reached the top of the steps he turned and switched directions so that he could climb down the last set facing down the course. On the last step, Murasame kicked put his legs so that he could find and land on the platform.

"Murasame has reached the safety of the landing. Next is the infamous Ultimate Cliff Hanger. Does our actor have what it takes to make it past?" Murasame knelt on the mat and rubbed the ache that was forming from the palms of his hands. He worked his fingers a little before shaking his hands and dipping them into the box of white chalk supplied. He clapped to remove the extra powder and stood up to take on the next challenge. The crowd held their breath as Murasame grasped onto the thin rail with his fingertips. His body swung back and forth as his hands worked their way down the rail and up the wall. When he reached the end he reached up to grasp the next one. Beads of sweat were forming on Murasame's brow as he concentrated on working his way back to the starting edge of the wall. At the end of the second rail, Murasame had to stretch up to grab the bar that would take him back down the cousre. His fingers hit it and he transferred his weight up. A gasp and groan issued from the crowd as his grip failed and Murasame slipped from the rail and splashed to the cool water below.

"The Ultimate Cliff Hanger has thrown another to the waiting waters of Mt. Midoriyama." The announcer called. Murasame bobbed up out of the water and waded to the shore. The cold water felt good on his tired hands.

"That was an excellent try." The interviewing woman said as the actor climbed from the water. "What happened?"

"I had a good hold on it, but when I pulled my weight up, my hand cramped up." Murasame explained as he tried to rub the sharp pain from his palm. The woman thanked him for his time and Murasame pulled a towel across his shoulders so he could go watch the last challenger take on the hellish course.


	12. Chapter 12

Here is the final contestant to run the third stage. I hope you like it. Please enjoy.

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat! or Ninja Warrior/Sasuke.**

"The night has brought us to our last challenger here at Mt. Midoriyama, Tsuruga Ren!" The announcer called as Ren mounted the steps and steadied himself. "Does Japan's top actor and model have what is needed to take down the course that has beaten so many tonight?" Kyoko and Yashiro both called their support to the actor. Ren smiled and raised his hand in acknowledgement before focusing everything he had into his task. His hands wrapped around the rings and he pushed off to slide down the bars. The tall actor's legs kicked vigorously as he swung his weight around to work the rings through the many hills and valleys of the bars. He pulled himself down the remaining portion of the bars till he could drop to the waiting mat between the Arm Rings and the Globe Grasp.

"Tsuruga has past the first obstacle." Ren could hear Kyoko's cheers as he rubbed his palms. He popped his knuckles and leaned out to grab the first glass ball between his middle and ring fingers the same way Murasame had done. The hard ball took his weight easily and he swung out over the water and worked his way down the slope from one ball to the next.

"The Glob Grasp was no challenge for Japan's number one actor." The announcer yelled as Ren reached the landing and only paused for a moment before leaning out and sinking his fingers onto the first step of the Devil Steps. Ren pulled himself up the steps as his legs swung in time to the rhythm his hands had found as they worked. At the top, he performed the same turning move that Murasame had done so that he was facing the other way and worked his way down the other side. Ren's long legs had no problems finding purchase on the mat and he landed lightly in safety to the sounds of clapping from his onlookers.

"Tsuruga Ren made the Devil Steps look easy. Can this amazing man beat the course?" Ren wished the announcer would not say those things. Neither the Glob Grasp nor the Devil Steps had been easy. His hands trembled slightly from the effort he had just put out. Ren squatted on the platform and shook his arms trying to get rid of the strain that he was starting to feel. He placed one knee on the padding as he patted his hands into the box of chalk. He rubbed the chalk in and dipped his hands in a second time buying some more time before he had to face the next obstacle. Ren stood up and clapped his hands together before he headed to the wall where Murasame had fallen to his defeat.

"You can do it!" Kyoko cried from the edge of the pool under the Ultimate Cliff Hanger. Ren looked back at his cheering love and smiled at her. If she believed he could, then he would do it for her. Ren found a grip on the red bar as far out as he could and swung lightly out to the wall. His fingertips held him up as he worked down the first rail and up to the second. Kyoko held her breath as Ren reached the transfer where Murasame had fallen. Ren reached up and grasped the third rail and hauled himself down its length to the first break. He placed his fingers close together on the end and stretched himself out to cross the first opening. His fingers hit the bar and he was able to transfer across the narrow gap. No one breathed as Ren reached the end of this rail and steadied himself for the jump that was required to reach the next tiny rail. Ren could feel the strain of his efforts in his shoulders as he bunched up and pushed himself across the rift to the next rail. A collective gasp sounded as the tall actor's fingers hit the small shelf, but his weight was too much for his tired hands to bear. Ren reached out trying to regain his hold as he fell backwards into the water that had claimed so many others.

"The Ultimate Cliff Hanger proves to be too strong for our final challenger." The announcer called to the crowd in a somber voice. Ren bobbed to the surface of the water and looked up at the wall staring mockingly down at him. He shook his head and made his way to the edge where Kyoko and Yashiro were waiting for him to get out of the water.

"That was a good try." The interviewer spoke to Ren. "Would you like to say something?" Ren dried his face and pushed his wet hair back from his face.

"That was one of the hardest things that I have ever done." Ren admitted as he rubbed his palm with his thumb. "I will have to train harder for the next time." The woman bowed her thanks and Ren turned back to his weighting friends. He smiled as Kyoko slipped out of his coat and offered it back to him. Now that he was wet, he needed it more than she did. Her actions from earlier slipped into his mind and his smile took on a hint of deviousness as he pulled out of his wet shirt. He patted himself dry and took his jacket back from the brightly blushing actress. Ren slipped into his jacked and looked at his giggling manager and the girl avoiding looking at him.

"Let's go get some dinner." Ren sighed deeply and started walking towards where their cars were parked. "It has been a long day."

"Twelve challengers have come today to test their strength against the world's toughest obstacle course, but all have failed. The time has come to thank you all for coming to Mt. Midoriyama and say farewell from this special edition of NINJA WARRIOR!"

…

Kyoko finished washing the last of the dished from the dinner she had prepared for Ren. She had expected Yashiro to join them for food after the running of Ninja Warrior, but the bespectacled man had informed them he was going home for a long hot bath. He promised that he would eat properly and disappeared leaving Kyoko alone with the tall actor. The two had returned to Ren's apartment for showers and dinner.

Kyoko walked out of the kitchen to find her respected senpai lying on this back on the floor of his living room. He had bent his legs up so his feet were flat on the floor and his kneed rose above him. His arms were both spread wide from his chest. Kyoko walked over and looked down on his face. A hint of pain could be seen around the corners of his eyes.

"What are you doing?" Kyoko asked as she knelt down next to the actors head. He looked up at the girl above her.

"I am trying to stretch the ache out of my back." He admitted to the girl.

"Roll over." Kyoko patted his shoulder. Ren's eyes widened in surprise at the innocent girl's words. Kyoko noticed his pause and a light blush creped across her face. "That is…" she stuttered. "I could… maybe… rub your back for you?" Ren's eyes nearly popped out of his head as she fiddled with her fingers. She was about to apologize for her audacity when Ren chuckled and rolled over onto his stomach.

"That would be great thanks." Ren spoke before the flustered girl could take back the offer. Ren sighed in happiness as Kyoko's slim fingers kneaded into the sore muscles of his back. He decided that he would happily try out for any crazy game show that Lory found as long as he could have his love's warm hands pressing into him afterwards. Ren smiled into the floor as an idea filtered into his brain. Now all he had to do was convene her to let him give her a back rub when she was done working on him.

**Author's note: ** Thank you for coming along for the ride. I know I just upset a lot of people, but this course is brutal and I just could not see any of the Skip Beat! cast making it past the Ultimate Cliff Hanger. They just don't spend enough time hanging from things… I can just imagine Ren climbing around on the sets between scenes trying to build up his hands enough to make it past the course. I hope you have enjoyed it and for those of you that have never seen Sauske/Ninja Warrior, you can find clips of it on youtube. It also plays on G4 in the US.

I would also like to wish the All Stars and the New Stars of Ninja Warrior the best of luck in the next running. May you reach Total Victory!


	13. Omake Theater 1

Hello, I have been watching the American Ninja Warrior and though about some fun things that could happen. I hope you enjoy it.

**Note: I do not own skip beat.**

Omake Theater #1

Sho looked up the rope that would take him to the top of Mt. Midoriyama and grinned. He had done it. It had been the hardest thing he had ever done, but he had beaten the first three stages of the world's hardest obstacle course and the world would see that he was the best. Ren had fallen from the warped wall in the third stage and lost his chance at total victory. Now it was Sho's turn to finally prove that he was better than that man that was standing with his Kyoko. Sho turned his mind to the task at hand and shot up the rope as soon as the buzzer sounded. He was tired, but the screams from the crowd pushed him up through the hole in the platform and he slammed his hand down on the buzzer with just 2/10 of a second left on the clock. He pulled himself up to gloat his total victory in front of all of Japan.

"Fantastic job Fuwa-san." The man at the top patted the singer on the shoulder. "That was a great practice run. Now let's go down and do it with the cameras running."


End file.
